THE MOVIE "13 HOURS" SHOULD SEE!

    This Sunday morning I got up and went to Corralville to take advantage of the $5 admission and caught the movie about the whole Benghazi tragedy. It left you with a proud feeling that there are men and women who are willing to give their lives for our country. Almost like watching a modern day version of the Alamo!

    But, secondly it makes you wonder sometimes why we have to try to be everywhere around the world and put ourselves in so much danger. No matter who was  directly or indirectly  to blame for not getting some help there in time it was a proud and  at the same time a sad depiction of the situation.

       One thing that you come to realize is that we can't go around and knock off these dictators and then not really have a good game plan for what is to happen after. Libya was a good example of that. We got rid of Gaddafi, but, there was no one strong enough that followed to keep the peace. 

      If nothing more movies like this make you very grateful that we live in the country even if we all don't agree! 

BIRTHDAY LUNCH WITH SISTER DORIS!

       As usual at my birthday this time of year, something got cancelled or delayed. This year was no exception. This time it was having a Birthday Lunch that was planned with my sister Doris. 

      We were going to meet in Grinnell on Tuesday at the Westside Dinner for lunch. The weather was iffy that day so we dined on Thursday instead. No big deal. I enjoyed the hour or so with my big sister despite the fact that our meal was so so and the Raisin Creme pie was sub-par. Sometimes, you can't have it all but the trip up the highway was worth just being with Doris! 
 

T-SHIRT THAT SAYS COLORADO! DON'T BOTHER!

     I was reminded of a story the other day when someone came into the Burg Grocery with a sweatshirt that said just "COLORADO." A good friend that passed away sometime ago, Don Brittin, was an avid skier and encouraged me to ski. 

       One time when we were in Colorado skiing he talked about what kind of "stuff" to buy while out there in terms of wearing apparel. His contention was, with some "snob" appeal, to never go to say Colorado and just get a sweat shirt or hat that simply said "Ski Colorado." No!

Nor would you just purchase a clothing item that just said "Ski Vail or Breckenridge!" Oh, No! 

        What you really would want to do is while skiing a particular area or mountain at Vail or wherever is to look for a more specialized garment. A hat perhaps that said "Ski Snow Mass" or " "Ski The Black Hole!" That way when you got back home and someone asked where those areas were, you very nonchalantly could say, "In Breckinridge,of course!" Never could travel anywhere without thinking about that. Not even to Kansas City!

      

THE CHOCOLATE CAKE SWITCH!

      Another observation during my birthday week has to deal with my favorite "Birthday Cake." All my life my cake of choice was chocolate with white frosting. Generally, my mother was the one that made it to perfection as only mothers can do! There was only one year when she made it with chocolate frosting instead of the white. Who knows what happened there!

       For some reason and starting about ten years ago I started to like white cake with white frosting. I think I know what happened. I used to order cakes for my grandchildren from Hy Vee in Marshalltown, Iowa and at the time I really liked the flavor of their cake and frosting. A I think my logic was that white cake for some reason was not as messy! I am going to Corralville this week-end and I hope the Hy Vee's cakes there are as good!

THE YEAR I THOUGHT I MISSED A BIRTHDAY!

       When it was my 47th birthday I woke up that morning and for some reason thought I was actually 48. I think I immediately had an anxiety attack. How could I be 48 and only two years away from being the Big 50! I laid there in bed for a bit and did the quick math and realized that I was actually 47 and hadn't missed it! What a relief! I guess I went through the Twilight Zone somehow. That had never happened before or since! But, wouldn't mind being 48 now!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE GETTING OLD WHEN----!

       When you reach my age and celebrating your birthday all kinds of things come to mind. Here is one of those! When I was a very young kid in the early 1950's there was an actress by the name of Gale Storm and she had a TV show called "My Little Margie !" She also did a song called "I Hear You Knocking!" Then, just about the same time Little Richard came out with a similar song called "Keep a Knockin!"

       Then in the early 1970's Dave Edmunds came out with "I Hear You Knocking" and made it into a big hit. I remember some kids during the 70's talking about this new big hit! I had to remind him that it was the third go around for me!

1st SONG TO HEAR MY BIRTHDAY!

It was kind of neat that the first song I heard when I got to work over the intercom on Wednesday, my birthday, was K C & The Sunshine Band--"Get Down Tonight." Do a little dance make a little love get down tonight Ugh! Ugh! That set the tone for the rest of the day! Again, the little things!